Younger lawmakers are increasingly turning to crowdfunding as a way of raising money to finance their political activities.

Ryota Kimura, a 30-year-old member of the Hirakata Municipal Assembly in Osaka Prefecture, recently asked for ¥100,000 on an online crowdfunding site to cover some of the cost of distributing quarterly reports on his activities to all households in the city. The reports cost ¥1.8 million annually.

In his prospectus, Kimura said the donations would help distribute information to "raise interest in politics" among citizens.